The 2019 Gerald Kraak Prize has been awarded to Nigeria’s OluTimehin Adegbeye, for her nonfiction piece, “Mothers and Men,” described by the judges as “a sensitive memoir casting new light on questions of rape, secondary victimisation and motherhood.” The announcement was made tonight at the Gerald Kraak Prize ceremony in Johannesburg, where the prize anthology […]
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Binyavanga Wainaina, Bestselling Author, Queer Icon, and Great Literary Influencer, Passes on at 48
Binyavanga Wainaina, the great Kenyan writer, bestselling memoirist, queer icon, beloved literary influencer, and arguably the most gifted prose writer of his generation, has passed on at 48. His family has confirmed that he died at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, 21 May, at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, after a short illness. For years, […]
Membrane: A Festival of African Literatures and Ideas | May 23-26 in Stuttgart
Three major cultural organizations in Germany, Literaturhaus Stuttgart, Institut français and Akademie Schloss Solitude, are hosting a four-day international literary festival titled Membrane: African Literatures and Ideas. The festival is being curated by three eminent intellectuals: Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard (Germany), director of EOTO, Novelist Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Kenya) and currently Fellow at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and […]
Akachi Chukwuemeka, Poet and Editor of the University of Nigeria’s Literary Journal The Muse, Passes on at 21
Chukwuemeka “Akachi” Emmanuel Ugwoke, a Nigerian poet and editor of The Muse, the literary journal of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the oldest student journal in West Africa, has passed on at 21. Until his death by suicide on Monday, 13 May 2019, he was a final year undergraduate at the university’s Department of […]
The Caine Prize Announces 2019 Shortlist
Five writers—from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria—have been shortlisted for the 2019 Caine Prize, for short stories that explore “the ordinary in an extraordinary manner.” Founded in 2000, and named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker Plc and Chairman of the Booker Prize, the £10,000 Caine Prize “is awarded for a […]
Short Story Day Africa Announces 2019 Prize Theme: Disruption
Short Story Day Africa has announced the theme for its 2019 Prize: “Disruption.” The prize will be open to submissions on 1 June 2019 and be closed on 31 October 2019. As with previous prizes, a longlist would be announced, and then a shortlist, and then the top three: a first place prize of $800, […]
Nnedi Okorafor, Tomi Adeyemi, Tiah Beautement, Tendai Huchu, Imraan Coovadia Make 28-Strong Shortlists for $3,000 Nommo Awards
The shortlists for the 2019 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans have been announced. This comes weeks after the longlists were released. The $3,000 Nommo Awards, founded in 2016 by the African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS), recognise the finest fantasy or science fiction works by Africans published in the preceding year. The ASFS is […]
50 Intellectuals, Including Wole Soyinka & Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Sign Letter to President Patrice Talon Calling for Fresh Elections in Benin Republic
Professors Wole Soyinka and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. are among a group of 50 African and American intellectuals who have signed a letter to President Patrice Talon of Benin Republic calling for fresh elections in the country. Premium Times reports that the group condemns how “Mr Talon suppressed opposition’s participation in the election by colluding […]
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